Iowa Court Halts Six-Week Abortion Ban Law
- July 21, 2023
An Iowa trial court granted plaintiff’s Emergency Motion for Temporary Injunction July 17, halting implementation of the law passed July 11 that would prohibit abortion in the state after fetal cardiac activity is detectable, usually around six weeks gestation.
The decision marks the latest round of litigation over abortion in Iowa that started in 2018 when Governor Kim Reynolds signed S.F. 359 into law. That bill also prohibited abortion once a “fetal heartbeat” is detected. Planned Parenthood of the Heartland (PPH), the ACLU of Iowa, and the Emma Goldman Clinic challenged the constitutionality of that law. The district court ultimately enjoined enforcement of the law in 2019.
In 2022, in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, 142 S. Ct. 2228, 2242 (2022), the state petitioned the district court to dissolve the permanent injunction from 2019. The court denied the motion, holding the Iowa rules of civil procedure did not provide a path for vacating the injunction more than one year after the judgment based on a change in law, and that the state failed to show the court had inherent authority to do so.
The denial was appealed to the Iowa Supreme Court, where the Justices deadlocked on a decision leaving the lower court’s decision denying the dissolution in place.
On July 11, 2023, the Iowa legislature passed H.F. 732, a bill virtually identical to the 2018 bill. PPH, the ACLU of Iowa, the Emma Goldman Clinic, and Sarah Traxler, M.D. filed the instant suit on July 12, arguing that H.F. 732 violates the Iowa Constitution’s due process and equal protection rights, and asking the court to temporarily enjoin enforcement of the law pending a final judgment on the merits.
After finding the claims are ripe, and that plaintiffs have standing to pursue them, the court highlighted that the plaintiffs’ likelihood of success on the merits comes down to which standard of scrutiny the court will use.
The Iowa Supreme Court’s most recent decision—issued one week prior to the Dobbs decision, held that the Iowa Constitution does not protect a fundamental right to an abortion and therefore courts should apply the undue burden test to determine constitutionality. Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, Inc. v. Reynolds ex rel. State, 975 N.W.2d 710 (Iowa 2022).
“Undue burden is where our Supreme Court’s jurisprudence on the issue has left off, with an invitation to litigate the issue further,” the opinion said.
When the undue burden standard is applied, it is “readily apparent” that plaintiffs are likely to succeed on their claim that H.F.732 violates the due process clause of the Iowa Constitution, the court held.
Both parties expect to continue litigation. Governor Reynolds issued a statement vowing to “fight this all the way to the Iowa Supreme Court where we expect a decision that will finally provide justice for the unborn.”
Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, Inc. v. Reynolds, No. EQCE089066 (Iowa Dist. Ct. July 17, 2023).